Pensioner arrested over stabbing of intruder bailed by police

Forensic officers at the scene in South Park Crescent in Hither Green, London. PIC: PA

Published:09:51Thursday 05 April 2018

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A pensioner arrested over the fatal stabbing of an intruder during a suspected burglary has been bailed until May, police said.

Richard Osborn-Brooks, 78, was arrested on suspicion of murder after fatally wounding the intruder during a suspected burglary at his home at around 12.45am on Wednesday.

Neighbours of the elderly man defended his actions, saying he should not be punished for simply protecting himself.

He has been bailed to return to a south London police station in early May pending further inquiries, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers were called to reports of a burglary in progress after two men entered a house in South Park Crescent in Hither Green, south-east London, police said.

One suspect, armed with a screwdriver, forced the homeowner into his kitchen when he discovered them, while his accomplice went upstairs, the force said.

Detectives believe a struggle ensued between “one of the males and the homeowner” and the intruder, 37, was stabbed in the upper body but they refused to confirm whether the suspect had been stabbed with the screwdriver.

An eyewitness said the suspected burglar had an accomplice who dragged him towards a van before leaving him for dead.

He was found collapsed in nearby Further Green Road by paramedics from London Ambulance Service, who took him to a central London hospital where he died at 3.37am.

Adam Lake, who lives near the scene, said he did not feel safe from crime and that Mr Osborn-Brooks was “just protecting himself”.

He said: “He doesn’t deserve to be punished for defending himself, and the neighbours that I’ve spoken to all agree that the priority needs to be to support him after everything that he’s been through.

“He was just protecting himself after all.”

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said the homeowner had been retired for 26 years.